After Reading [Gooseberries]
Gooseberries, By Anton Chekhov (1898)
Rate : 8 / 10
Gooseberries, which Nikolai grew on the land he had worked hard for about 20 years, came as an uncomfortable taste for Ivan and a sweet taste for Nikolai himself.
Each person has a different standard of happiness and a different way of pursuing happiness. For Nikolai, preparing his own land was a way of achieving happiness, and for Ivan, enjoying nature as itself was a way of enjoying his own happiness.
Since two did not understand each other, so I think that the taste of gooseberries might have felt different.
Nikolai's thoughts are very similar to those of people in modern society. Before one knows, material has become the standard for determining happiness, and people struggle to prepare their own homes and land. In addition, there were people who were satisfied by comparing what they had with what others did not, and who gained a happiness from the superiority is induced by the gap between the rich and the poor. Ivan thinks all of those thoughts have turned Nikolai into a vain, lazy, and corrupt person, and negatively evaluates him. However, I think that as we move toward modern society, people's thoughts are gradually becoming more and more similar to Nikolai's thoughts, so it is inevitable that the measure and standard of judgment of happiness change. Therefore, funnily, the story was written in 1898, but I felt that it is a vivid description of our present appearance.
Really good points. Culturally, happiness is always different as well. When we visit poor countries we see "happy" people who don't own much. So it makes us wonder. Who is really happy? And what is it to be naturally happy without the influences of ego? It seems external forces and internal forces often work together or against one another to shape illusions of happiness. I like that you see Nikolai's version of happiness being realistically at work in today's society. It definitely is.
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